What To Watch For: Patriots desperate for a win against visiting Saints

BOSTON -- A 1-3 record, while jarring, was not completely unexpected for the New England Patriots. Given the difficulty of the schedule, that less-than-stellar record was a real possibility heading into the year.

Yet 1-4? A 1-4 record was not in anyone's mind, as most people viewed Week 5 vs. the Saints and Week 6 at the Raiders as opportunities for the Patriots to get back on steady footing for the season.

That still seems possible, but after the Patriots looked as bad as they've ever looked last Sunday in Dallas, there's a little bit more doubt about this team's capability of handling its business and winning the winnable games that lie ahead.

We'll get answers to some questions on Sunday, when the 2-2 Saints visit Gillette Stadium. 

All Eyes On Mac

It's a quarterback league, which leads to all sorts of overanalysis and misguided criticism and improper praise. But with Mac Jones, any and all criticism sent his way after last week's disaster in Dallas was warranted. He was that bad.

On the one hand, there were many alarming parts of Jones' game last week. On the other hand, it's the worst he's ever looked. So perhaps it was just a bad day.

Whatever the case may be, everyone's going to be hyper-focused on Mac Jones on Sunday. The Saints haven't been getting to the quarterback much, registering just nine sacks over four games, with the team getting just one sack in each of the past two games. The Patriots still have questions along the offensive line, but not facing Micah Parsons or the daunting Eagles rush presents a better opportunity for the New England passing game.

But the stats and the numbers and the names are just that. Execution will matter most on Sunday. If the Patriots get poor offensive line play, we've seen them turn Andrew Van Ginkel into Lawrence Taylor. And if they get poor quarterback play? That home crowd will loudly be letting its dissatisfaction known.

It's a huge week for Mac Jones. It's up to him to prove that last week was the aberration, not the new norm.

Keying On Keion

For possibly the first time ever in the Bill Belichick era, a high-ranking coach outright announced who would be filling in for an injured player. 

"Keion is gonna play more. He's gonna play more, simply said," Jerod Mayo said this week when asked who would step up in the absence of Matthew Judon. "And we really need him to show up."

Obviously, there is no replacing Matthew Judon. He's made four straight Pro Bowls and he has 32 sacks in his last 38 games. A rookie isn't going to replace that production.

But Keion White has a huge opportunity this week, after he's taken just a third of the team's defensive snaps over the first four weeks. He's more of a power rusher than a speed guy, but those of us who saw him use his force in the preseason will be interested to see how it can translate to the real games.

What Is J.C. Jackson?

Everybody remembers J.C. Jackson from his first four seasons in the NFL. He earned himself the nickname "Mr. INT" for picking off 25 passes in his first four years. He cashed in with a big-money deal in free agency in 2022, which was a major success story for an undrafted free agent.

Unfortunately for him (and the Chargers), his stint in L.A. was anything but successful. An offseason surgery delayed his start to the 2022 season, and a knee injury ended it early. This year, he was a healthy scratch in Week 3 and was a sideline spectator in Week 4, before the Chargers decided to trade him away for essentially nothing while continuing to pay most of his salary.

So ... any hope that Jackson can step in and immediately be a savior in the secondary should be tempered. And with Chris Olave and Michael Thomas running routes for New Orleans, the challenge facing the whole secondary is immense.

We know that Christian Gonzalez is out, and we know that Jack Jones isn't ready to return. A Jonathan Jones return would be significant, as the Patriots continue to try to patch things together on the back end of the defense. We saw last week that opposing quarterbacks are willing and ready to pick on Myles Bryant/Shaun Wade when given the opportunity.

In some respect, it's helpful that they're facing Derek Carr instead of Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. At the same time ... Carr did kind of light up the Patriots last year in leading the Raiders to a comeback win. We all remember the disastrous lateral to end the game, but Carr threw three touchdowns in that game, so he is capable of occasionally capitalizing. 

Don't Forget The Kicker

So, the Patriots parted ways with Nick Folk this summer, and he has been predictably excellent in his new home in Tennessee, successfully kicking all 10 of his field goal attempts and all six of his PATs.

New England made that decision after trading up to draft Chad Ryland in the fourth round. Ryland may well have a long NFL career ahead of him, but the early returns are not good.

Ryland missed two field goals against the Jets in Week 3 -- one from 48 yards, one from 57 -- though some were quick to blame some high snaps from Joe Cardona on a drizzly day in New Jersey for those misses.

Last week in Dallas, in perfect indoor conditions and with no game pressure whatsoever, Ryland missed a 52-yard field goal attempt that wasn't particularly close.

Ryland is now 4-for-7 on field goals this season, an inauspicious start to his career.

This is relevant because, well, the Patriots aren't exactly the type of team that's built to blow anybody out. There won't be a ton of games where the Patriots climb into the 30s or 40s, so every scoring opportunity is going to matter.

And while we do feel as though the Saints are a sub-mediocre team, we're also not convinced the Patriots are significantly better. So this one could, theoretically, come down to a late kick to decide the winner and loser. If the rookie Ryland goes trotting out there with 3 seconds on the game clock with the Patriots trailing by one, will he make the kick? 

We've got everything Saints-Patriots covered on WBZ-TV -- the television home of the New England Patriots! Coverage continues Friday night with Patriots All Access on WBZ-TV at 7pm. Pregame coverage begins at 11:30am Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay, the Pats and the Saints kick off just after 1pm, and we'll wrap it all up on Patriots 5th Quarter on TV38 immediately following the game!